Palo Cortado

Palo Cortado is a rare variety of sherry that is initially aged under flor to become a fino or amontillado, but inexplicably loses its veil of flor and begins aging oxidatively as an oloroso. The result is a wine with some of the richness of oloroso and some of the crispness of amontillado. Only about 1-2% of the grapes pressed for sherry naturally develop into palo cortado.[1]

Bottle of palo cortado

Contents

The name means 'cut stick,' in reference to the mark made on the cask when this style of wine is recognized. Since the wine was originally destined to be a fino or amontillado, it will initially have had a single stroke marked on the cask. When the overseer realizes that the wine is becoming a palo cortado, he draws a cross (or cut) through the initial stroke (or stick), resulting in a crossed stroke or 'cut stick' (/). At this time the wine will be fortified to about 17.5% alcohol, to prevent spoilage from contact with the air. As the overseer continues to monitor the wine over time, he may feel it necessary to add additional measures of alcohol to the casks to continue its development. These additional measures are marked on the cask as additional crosses, and the resulting wine is designated 'dos cortados,' 'tres cortados,' etc. according to the number of 'cuts' marked on the cask. The greater the number of cuts, the greater the age of the wine.

Though a 'true' palo cortado is said to be produced accidentally, because of the demand for this style of wine it is sometimes produced intentionally by blending amontillado with oloroso to produce a wine with the hybrid flavour of a palo cortado—and a lower price than the naturally-occurring wine.[2]

Mystery surrounds Palo Cortado because nobody fully understands its origins. Or at least, that is what bodegas are telling us: Palo Cortado is a wine that “occurs”, rather by accident – you can’t actively produce it. On top of this, you frequently hear that it’s an endangered species that will be extinct at some point because it is becoming so popular and production is so limited. Luckily this seems a bit exaggerated.[3]

Jerez Cortado is a variety of palo cortado made not in Jerez, but in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the most westerly of the three points of the 'Sherry Triangle', properly known as the denominación de Jerez. The city of Jerez is the most easterly point — and Puerto de Santa María lies southwest of that.[4]

On 12 April 2012, the rules applicable to the sweet and fortified Denominations of Origen Montilla-Moriles and Jerez-Xérès-Sherry[5] were changed. The classification by sweetness is:

As palo cortado falls between amontillado and oloroso, it is relatively stable and may be stored for a few years before opening. After opening, it can be kept, corked and refrigerated, for a few weeks.